Tim Walz’s Hair Is ‘On Fire’ Over Trump Authoritarianism
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Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz has stepped into the void and is holding town halls in red districts where Republicans have been hiding from their constituents.
He is encouraged by what he’s seeing.
Walz discussed it all and more on MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes Tuesday night. “This is not performative resistance,” Walz told Hayes. “This is people really concerned and they’re telling their stories that are very personal, whether it’s Parkinson’s and depending on Medicaid or what’s happening with them at the VA. They’re telling those stories in front of their neighbors and it’s very raw. It’s a lot of emotion, but they’re very engaged.”
“There are a lot of folks saying, ‘None of this is what we voted for,’” Walz continued. “So, I think there is an awakening, if you will, of folks are really engaging in a way that i quite honestly haven’t seen.”
He added that his events seem quite different from rallies, “These are Tuesday nights in Lorain, where they’ve never had one, at a high school. They fill the auditorium and then they fill the gym. They’re not coming to see me. I’m coming to see them. and i think that’s what feels different.”
Walz said he wants to be “a calming presence” and provide facts, as he did during the pandemic and the George Floyd protests.
But this is a dire moment:
WALZ: The road to authoritarianism is littered with people telling you you’re overreacting. I have had hair on fire for a while, and I know there’s – you know, “we can’t swing at everything. he’s just out there flooding the zone to distract you from the real stuff he’s doing.” I have come to understand what Donald Trump, what pops into his head, and he says, he’s going to carry it out.
As examples, Walz cited tariffs and Trump’s terrifying refusal to return the wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego Garci, now sitting in El Salvador’s notorious torture prison. “If you’re not speaking up for this man, there will be no one left to speak up for you,” Walz said. He also brought up Trump’s direction to the DOJ to investigate Republican Chris Krebs, who headed the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) during Trump’s first term, for the sin of saying that the 2020 election was fair.
“They’re coming, they’re going to do this,” Walz said. He meant the administration could come after any one of us on a Trumped-up excuse. “So, I think the biggest thing is, I’m convinced now, he’s not going to listen to the courts.”
That’s why popular opposition and mass protests are so necessary now. And they are starting to work.
WALZ: I’ve been saying there is a final firewall and it’s the people. That’s why these rallies, that’s why these town halls, that’s why this engagement – it’s not meant to scare people. It’s meant to empower people.
Because I will tell you what: Republican members of Congress are not afraid of the people. they’re afraid of Donald Trump. They are starting to become afraid of the people. That’s why they’re not doing these town halls.
So, if you haven’t yet, start getting engaged now. Before it’s too late!